The "threshold" for Russia's use of tactical nuclear weapons is lower than what the Russian authorities publicly say. This conclusion is made by the Financial Times, which writes that it has reviewed documents from the Russian army on the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons in the event of a war with any major world power.

The use of nuclear weapons under this doctrine is envisaged at an early stage of the conflict.

Among the criteria for a nuclear strike by the Russian Federation are the enemy's landing on Russian territory, the defeat of units responsible for the protection of border areas, or an imminent enemy attack using conventional weapons.

The threshold for a strike is defined as a set of factors under which the loss of Russian troops "will irreversibly lead to their inability to stop a major enemy aggression," which is "a critical situation for Russia's state security."

Other possible conditions include the destruction of 20% of Russian strategic ballistic missile submarines, 30% of nuclear attack submarines, three or more cruisers, three airfields, or the simultaneous destruction of the main and reserve coastal command posts.

The documents were drawn up between 2008 and 2014. But experts believe that they are still relevant. The documents also reflect the patterns of exercises that the Russian military regularly conducted before and after the invasion of Ukraine.

They show that Russia views its nuclear arsenal as a cornerstone of its defense policy and is preparing troops to be able to launch a nuclear strike.

At the same time, as the documents show, not only a possible war with NATO, but also a hypothetical attack by China are considered as situations where nuclear weapons could be used.

The exercise materials show that Russia's Eastern Military District practiced scenarios depicting a Chinese invasion. In the event of a Chinese attack, Russia can respond with a tactical nuclear strike to stop the advance of the "South." 

It should be noted that earlier representatives of the Russian authorities stated that in the event of a war with NATO, Russia, given the incomparability of the capabilities of the Russian Federation and the Alliance in conventional weapons, would immediately use nuclear weapons. The documents cited by the Financial Times actually confirm this.